Leod

[1] Tradition dating to the late 18th century made him a son of Olaf the Black who was King of Man (r.

However, in recent years, this traditional lineage has been challenged and is no longer considered fact by one historian.

The traditional belief that Torquil was a son has also been challenged; the current understanding is that he was a great-grandson of Leod.

[4] In recent years, the DNA evidence of men bearing surnames equating to MacLeod has revealed that a certain proportion share a common ancestor—an ancestor considered to have been the clan's founder.

[1] The earliest historical record of a MacLeod chief occurs almost a century after he is thought to have flourished—when the names of "Malcolme, son to Tormode M'Cloyde",[8] and that of "Torkyll M'Cloyd",[8] appear in a royal charter during the reign of David II, King of Scots (r. 1329–1371).

Until quite recently, Leod has generally been considered to have been the son of Olaf the Black, King of Mann and the Isles (r.

Later genealogies, however, made Leod a son of Olaf the Black—genealogies found in Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie's Baronage of Scotland, of 1798; and the Bannatyne manuscript, which dates to about 1830.

In 1977, historian William Matheson rejected the traditional descent from Olaf the Black on the basis that it is unsupported by any facts whatsoever, and that it is also contradicted by earlier, more authentic, Gaelic-language genealogies.

However, the Scottish Gaelic form of Olaf, Olavus, Olaus, Óláfr, is in fact Amhlaoibh, and the more modern Amhlaidh.

Matheson speculated that Leod's great-grandfather would have likely flourished at about the same time as Olvir Rosta was supposedly exiled to the Outer Hebrides.

Matheson went even further and proposed that Leod's great-grandfather was in fact Olvir Rosta—a character from the mediaeval Orkneyinga saga.

In Matheson's opinion, since the Gaelic-language genealogies are inconsistent in the generations further back than Leod's great-grandfather, this may show that the man was a newcomer in the area.

When the Isle of Man passed into the possession of the Scots, Alexander III granted Lewis, Harris, Waternish, and Minginish to Harald.

Cromartie's account also states how Leod's wife was Adama, daughter of Fearchar, Earl of Ross.

Sellar went so far as to state that Leod's wife, father, and the grant, were nothing but figments of Cromartie's imagination.

[20] In the Bannatyne manuscript, the sheriff is called "Paal Baccas", and is stated to have owned the isle of Harris, as well as the following lands on Skye: Sleat, Trotternish, Waternish, and Snizort.

[1] The Bannatyne manuscript states that Paal Baccas was killed in 1231; after which Leod peacefully succeeded to his possessions.

Within the centre of the choir there is a large stone which once contained a monumental brass, traditionally said to have been a MacLeod.

The Bannatyne manuscript does not specifically state which son was the elder, and subsequently there has been debate over which branch was more 'senior' in descent.

The manuscript continues that in Ireland he acquired considerable estates in Galway and was knighted; although he was the principal man of his name there, his descendants were known not as MacLeods, but as MacElliots.

This marker is found not only in the Western Isles, but also in Orkney, Shetland, England, Norway, and Sweden.

In consequence, the study concluded that the genetic origin of Clan MacLeod likely lies in Scandinavia.